


Echoes

by KSilverland



Series: Xander Ryder [2]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F, Flirting, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 17:43:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13346256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KSilverland/pseuds/KSilverland
Summary: "All Vetra could see was the Pathfinder’s body, limp on the deck, eyes blank and glassy. Lifeless. Dead."Vetra takes the Pathfinder's near-death hard, and Ryder shows up to make her feel better.





	Echoes

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my documents for I don't know how long. There's not enough Vetra/f!Ryder out there, so I'm adding to it.

Ryder’s heart stopped and Vetra’s heart stopped with her.

It was the only way to escape, the only way to get free while the Archon was occupied elsewhere, but she was  _ helpless _ as she hung, suspended, and SAM--the same AI that  _ stopped _ Ryder’s  _ heart _ \--tried to resurrect the Pathfinder. He succeeded, in the end, but there was a moment she had worried. A moment that Ryder  _ wasn’t breathing _ , that SAM would fail and they’d be left hanging there, their best hope (her friend, maybe  _ more _ ) dead on the floor before them. 

The image of Ryder’s lifeless body followed her throughout the rest of their time on the flagship, and back onto the Tempest as they made their getaway. Lexi was there when they boarded to whisk Ryder away to the medbay, and yet all Vetra could see was the Pathfinder’s body, limp on the deck, eyes blank and glassy. Lifeless.  _ Dead.  _

Jaal didn’t appear to be handling it any better than she, stalking off to his hidey-hole in the tech lab as soon as he’d cleared decontamination, but only the echo of her friend’s (girlfriend’s?) body hitting the floor filled the quiet space of the armory as she unclipped her weapon harness and set about cleaning her guns. It echoed as she worked, as she tucked supplies away and checked her messages. As she sat, head in her hands, trying to listen to the hum of the drivecore instead. 

“Vetra?”

Her head snapped up to find Ryder--alive, breathing, normal heart rate scrolling across her visor feed--in the doorway, a frown on her features. “Ryder, hey.”

“Is this a bad time?”

“No, no. Just a bit...shaken up after that last run.” Vetra stood and waved the Pathfinder into the armory, turning to the shelving unit beside her desk. She shifted a few things, eager to keep her hands busy, her face from Ryder lest she clue her into to just exactly where her thoughts had been drifting. “How are you feeling?”   


She caught her shrug out of the corner of her eye. “Sore. Lexi didn’t find anything wrong, but she wants me off-duty for the next twenty four hours, for observation.”

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah.”

They lapsed into an awkward silence, Vetra’s back to Ryder, Ryder’s gaze on the floor. The quiet hum of the drive core stretched between them like a chasm. 

“Are...you ok? After--” Ryder cut herself short, her gaze flicking from Vetra’s shoulders to her own boots. 

_ I watched you die. It’s all I can hear, all I can see. _ “Not everyday you watch an AI stop a heart.”

“Vetra--” She heard Ryder step closer, almost felt her head hovering above her back. Felt the retraction. “You stopped me, to check in on the flagship. You...took it hard.”

“I don’t like watching my friends die, Ryder.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t like dying.”

A strangled breath of laughter escaped her. “You--you were dead.” She twisted to face her. “You could’ve stayed that way.”   
  
“I came back.” Ryder shifted forward, a little closer, a little more into Vetra’s space. She smelled like that human fruit--raspberries. Like the soap she’d had her pick up; one of the few indulgences the Pathfinder allowed herself. 

Vetra caught her by the shoulders, though to pull her close or push her away she wasn’t sure. “Don’t do that again. Please.”  _ Don’t make me watch as we-- _ **_I_ ** _ \--lose you. _

Ryder’s hands were warm where they cupped Vetra’s wrists. “I won’t. Wouldn’t have done it if we had an alternative.” Her thumbs brushed along the curve of her joint. “You ok?”

Vetra’s chuckle was weak, but warm as she dropped her grip on the human’s shoulders. Ryder almost looked disappointed by the loss of the contact. “I should be asking you that.”   


Ryder snorted and pushed a hand through her hair, her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Yeah, well...I’m here. I’ll take that today.”

“Me too.”

This time, when the quiet lapsed between them, it didn’t feel like a separation. It felt comfortable, close. Normal. Or as close as normal could get when the human Pathfinder took every opportunity to flirt she was given, specifically with her. Or that’s what it felt like. Vetra cleared her throat.

“I hear kett activity’s down. The Archon must be licking his wounds. And that means he can be beaten.” She shifted, eyes suddenly bright. “The kett can be beaten. People are waking up to that.”

Ryder arched a brow at the deflection, but bit all the same. “Sure. Still got a long way to go, though.”

“But it’s hope. A start.” She hummed. “Sometimes it’s the small things that keep us going.”

“I wouldn’t call infiltrating the Archon’s flag ship ‘small’.”

She chuckled and flicked a glance at Ryder. “True, but it’s a good reminder.”

“Of how far we’ve come?”

Vetra nodded. “Suvi’s got her father’s antique instruments, Cora’s got her asari prayer book, Liam’s got...the junk that Liam collects. These things are important. They’re a reminder of where we came from.”

“And how far we have left to go.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged, stepping past. “But we won something today. The opportunity to look forward to the future. To move forward.”

Ryder followed her to the window that overlooked the drivecore, shoulder nearly brushing Vetra’s. “So...what comes next for you, Vetra Nyx?” She offered her a smile. “Whole new galaxy--we remember where we came from, but where do you want to go?”

She huffed something that sounded like a laugh. “Me? I can start over. Find some honest work.”

Ryder blinked. “You really want to start over? After everything you’ve been through?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “The point is, I have the choice of changing if I want to. I didn’t have that before.” Vetra turned, an energy in her movement. She had the  _ choice _ . And they’d come so far that small things could matter again.  _ Small things like the smile your CO throws you every time you look? _ Ryder was here, breathing and warm beside her, and that… Today? That was a victory. “We’ve made progress, Ryder. Small things matter again. People are daring to dream.”

_ Huh _ . Ryder folded her arms over her chest and shifted her weight, the soft smile lingering on her lips. “I think my dream is to find someone to special to explore this new galaxy with, small things and all.” 

Vetra’s mandibles twitched. This, at least, was familiar in the wake of...everything.  _ The small things _ . “Oh? And have you found that person?”

Ryder smiled, broad and bright. “I think I have. You’ll love her. She’s tall, good with guns  _ and _ getting people to do what she wants.” She met Vetra’s gaze head on. “And she always knows when to check in, even when I don’t realize I need it.”

Vetra’s breath caught, even as she chuckled in response. She  _ knew _ . The damn woman  _ knew  _ she’d been worried as hell, and  _ still _ came, still bantered because of it. To distract her, to help. 

The human woman bumped her shoulder against Vetra’s before she turned and moved towards the armory doors. “Thanks, Vetra. And...if you need anything, just shout, alright?”

“Will do, Ryder.” She watched her go, chest warm. 

It was Ryder’s smile that followed her for the rest of the cycle, after that.


End file.
